Sunil Lanba to take over as next Indian Navy chief on May 31

58-year-old Lanba, a specialist in Navigation and Direction, will have the full three-year tenure as the Navy Chief. He will succeed Admiral R K Dhowan who is retiring.

NEW DELHI: Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of Western Naval Command, has been appointed as the new Chief of Naval Staff and will assume charge on May 31.

58-year-old Lanba, a specialist in Navigation and Direction, will have the full three-year tenure as the Navy Chief. He will succeed Admiral R K Dhowan who is retiring.

An alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, he will be the 21st Indian to be the Navy Chief. The first two were British.

He will take over from Admiral Dhowan on the afternoon of May 31 and will be in office till May 31, 2019.

"The government has appointed Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, at present FOC-in-C Western Naval Command, as the next Chief of Naval Staff with effect from the afternoon of May 31," a Defence Ministry spokesperson said today.

Coming in with rich operational and staff experience over a career spanning more than three decades, Lanba has served as Navigating Officer of corvette INS Sindhudurg and frigate INS Dunagiri.